15 August 2010

Welcome once again to Meatless Mondays here at More Than Burnt Toast. Around the blogosphere for some time now I have seen bloggers who are joining the Meatless Monday movement all across the world to show their support for our planet. Whether you join your fellow bloggers, restaurants or chefs like Mario Batali in going meatless even one day a week we have all accomplished something. Cutting out meat and other animal products is the most powerful way for each of us to fight climate change and reduce our ecological footprint as well. Meat free meals are so nutritionally sound and provide proven health benefits. Whether you follow suit for these health benefits or to show your support for your local farmers going meatless at least one day a week will benefit us all in one way or another.

This dish was inspired by Michael Smith, a Canadian chef, who made a roasted tomato sauce to accompany his version of these pillowy, tender morsels. Roasting our tomatoes would be perfect for the winter when tomatoes are less than perfect but when our gardens and farmers markets are laden with sun-ripened tomatoes of every shape, size and sweet perfection it seemed like sacrilege to tamper with them too much. Therefore I made a very quick tomato sauce using a kaleidoscope of colour and flavour from our local farmers market.

I am sending this dish over to the party at Presto Pasta Nights the brainchild of the illustrious Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. This is one of the longest ongoing parties in the blogosphere since it has been in the forefront for over 3 years now. Now that's a party!!!This week the party is being hosted by expat Katie of Thyme for Cooking whom I have been following for almost as many years from her kitchen in France. Check out her adventures with mon mari and their renovations.

Peel and quarter the potatoes, putting them in a medium stock pot with enough water to cover the potatoes with one inch of water. Add a handful of coarse salt. Put the potatoes to boil until they are tender when pierced with a fork, but not mushy. Drain the potatoes.

Put the potatoes through a food mill or potato ricer. (Or mash very finely with a fork.) In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs, Parmesan and ricotta, and mix well using your hands or a fork until consistent dough is formed. Be careful not to over mix.

Add the flour a half cup at a time, mixing each time by hand until there is a soft, pliable dough. The dough should not be sticky, and it should not be hard. If it’s too sticky or soft, the gnocchi will be mushy, but if there’s too much flour, the gnocchi will be chewy and tough. (This is the only challenging part!)

Knead the dough a few times until uniform, adding some more flour if needed, and divide the dough in half.

Flour a work area, and roll the dough out into a long thin roll about 3/4 inch thick. Cut these tubes of dough into sections about 1 inch long. Meanwhile, bring a stock pot of water to a boil.

There are a variety of ways to ‘mark’ the gnocchi-all just a style choice, since at this point, they are more or less done. Here are some suggestions: Mark an indentation in the center of each gnocchi with your index finger; or roll over the side of a cheese grater to make patterned indentations; or roll over the backside of a fork, or roll over the center of a wooden gnocchi tool.

Note: for more dense gnocchi, roll lightly, just enough to mark the dough. For light fluffy gnocchi, roll on a gnocchi tool (available in any Argentinean grocery) and press firmly so that the gnocchi rolls around the tip of your thumb and resembles a little ear. Tip: If using the gnocchi tool, flour the ridges periodically so that the dough doesn’t stick as it’s being pushed into the grooves.

At this point, the gnocchi can be frozen laid out on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. After they are frozen, they can be stored in a freezer bag. Frozen gnocchi are just put into the boiling water like the unfrozen ones.

To make the gnocchi, either fresh or frozen, throw the gnocchi one at a time into the boiling water. (If you throw them in by the handful, you will get one big glob of gnocchi.)They are cooked when they rise to the top. (Less than 5 minutes) Collect with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Serve with the sauce of your choice.

NOTE: I divided the gnocchi dough in half and added pesto to one half and parsley to the other.

In large saute pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil add onions, garlic, olives, thyme, salt and pepper and saute until tomatoes crack and release their juices, approximately 5 minutes. The sauce is done when it begins to brown here and there, the tomatoes shrink and it smells amazing.

Toss with your favourite pasta or as here with gnocchi!

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author/owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.

Oh I agree with everything you say about cutting out meat from your diet. Fortunately, Mexican cooking is very good at that and I am really enjoying my experience down here. Ricotta gnocchi sounds amazing, especially with that delicious looking sauce.

That recipe looks delicious & I love your idea of the Meatless Mondays! As a true protein fan I see the upside of rolling with the veggies one day a week. Thanks for the info & look forward to your next post - Cheers!

This has my name all over it. Creamy, tangy, fruity, sweet and savory. I've never done this with ricotta and now am compelled to. Yes, meatless at least once a week (or more) is definitely the way to go.

Val...I truthfully never really fancied gnocchi before...maybe because I felt they were too heavy with potato. Yours with Ricotta sound interesting...maybe one day I'll try these out. Better yet...I'll pass it on to my Mom-in-law who loves doing these preparations ;o)

I'm glad to see gnocchi today--I need all the info I can get. I'm finally going to attempt making gnocchi this Friday. I've been afraid of trying for the longest time, but now I'm excited to give it a whirl. Mine will be meatless too!

The ricotta gnocchi looks so delicious I wish I could eat it right now!I'm so going to make this tomorrow, we're going to have guests from abroad and I'm sure they're going to love it!Thank you so much for sharing~foodintandem

Love what you have posted here about Meatless Days, such a wonderful idea. I don't eat meat but do eat seafood, and only a couple times a week. But my family does eat meat and have over the past few years cut back to only a couple times per week. Love this gnocchi dish, and the photos are lovely :)

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My blog More Than Burnt Toast has been my passion for almost 9 years and has evolved with me over time as I have gained confidence in the kitchen. Follow my travels through Italy and Greece one recipe at a time, upcoming cooking classes at local Okanagan wineries and restaurants, as well as daily experimentation in my own kitchen. Every day we should be excited about what we are eating even if it just means making use of a wonderful find at our local farmers market. I look forward to getting to know you.